Paper making machine



y 1959 M. J. MAGUIRE PAPER MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 5, 1954 Milton .1.Maguire IN VENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mayz26, 1959;:

States Patent PAPER MAKING MACHINE Milton J. Maguire, Portland, Oreg.

Application November 5, 1954, Serial N 0. 467,176

7 Claims. (31. 162-210 This invention relates to improvements in thepaper making art and is particularly directed to a method and means forremoving maximum Water content from webs of paper during manufacture orfrom pulp.

, It is conventional in the making of paper with known paper makingmachines to support the web on a moving Fourdrinier forming wire whichpasses over suction devices, such as regular stationary suction boxes,or over the Rotabelt Suction Unit disclosed in Evans Patents Nos.2,039,308 and 2,601,378 and over rotary suction couch and press rolls.Such suction devices have in common the purpose of removing water fromthe web by vacuum creating a suction and sucking the water from the web.However, it is extremely desirable to remove as much water as possibleat this point in the paper making process. Since the amount of waterthat can be removed from the web is limited, any increase in theextractive power of the vacuum force must come from some meansaugmenting or assisting the vacuum pressure.

Thus, a primary object of this invention is to provide means, whichoverlies the paper web above the vacuum means, for applying pressure tothe paper web through the medium of vacuum pressure on the overlyingmeans. Such air restriction means comprehended by this inventionoperates in conjunction with the vacuum water extraction means, of rolltype to allow higher vacuums to be imposed on the web on top of thewire. The air restriction means moves with the web on the upper facethereof and over the vacuum means to restrict the at mospheric air andthereby enable the vacuum means to draw a greater amount of water fromthe web by pressure of the air restriction means due to the vacuum.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel method ofextracting Water from a web of paper or the like material which includesthe step of restricting the passage of air through the web by suctionbelow the web and resisting the suction above the web over the majorarea of the suction means to thereby create a downward pressure on theweb over the major area of the suction means.

A further object of this invention is to provide a moving belt whichoverlies the web in pressure free contact therewith and is positionedabove or in confronting relation to a vacuum means so as to oppose thevacuum means with the Web interposed therebetween, the belt covering thesurface of the web so as to provide a pressure backing for the suctionforce and restrict the atmospheric air from being sucked through theweb.

This invention comprehends the provision of air restriction beltsdisposed in confronting relation to the various suction or vacuumdevices on a paper making machine, such devices, including the suctionboxes and devices under the wire, the suction couches and presses. Thebelts may be made from rubber, natural or synthetic, or similar plasticmaterial or may be made of canvas or heavy cloth or wool. In suchinstances, the

beltmay be of.semi-porous orperforated materials of the above types as,for example, when it is desired to allow some water displacement by airas well as bypressure. The belts are preferably of the endless type and"are driven by the moving web to which they are held" by the suctioncreated by the vacuum means.

The foregoing and ancillary objects are attained by this invention, thepreferred embodiments of which are set forth in the followingdescription and illustrated in the attached drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a diagrammatic side elevation of the -in vention applied tothe paper making machine in connection with the Rotabelt suction unitand the couch roll;

Figure 2 is a detail view of a modification of Figure 1; I

Figure 3 is a modified form of the invention shown in association withthe same elements of the paper making machine; i

Figure 4 is a detail view of a modification of Figure Figure 5 is avertical sectional view of the belt arrangement of Figures 3 and 4; andI Figure 6 is a side elevation showing the invention applied between atop press roll and a suctionpress roll.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing and I initially to Figure1, which is a diagrammatic view of the forming end of a paper makingmachine, the numeral 10 designates the usual head box from which thepaper stock flows out onto the usual Fourdrinier forming wire 12 forminga paper Web 14. The forming wire 12 is of endless form and is entrainedover a breast roll 16 and a couch roll 18, which is of the conventionalrotary suction type and has a suction box on the inside by means ofwhich a vacuum is imposed on the web before it leaves the couch roll andpasses on to the presses (not shown).' I The forming wire is supportedby suitable table rolls 20 and the web 14 is initially subjected to asuction action created by suction boxes 22 which underlie the dandy roll24. The. wire with the web travels over a moving type suction device 26such as, for example, a type known as a Rotabelt suction unit and isdisclosed in Patent No. 2,039,308 to W. P. Evans and No. 2,601,378 to J.W. W. Evans. g

An air restricting means 28, in accordance with this invention, isprovided in functional association'with the suction device 26 andincludes an endless belt 30,-which may be formed from rubber, natural orsynthetic, plastic, canvas or the like materials and which is entrainedover parallel, longitudinally spaced rollers 32. The rollers aresuitably journalled and are mounted so that the lower reach 34 of thebelt 30 rests by gravity on top-of the web 14 and is held by the suctionaction ofthe suction means 26 in contact with the web. For pressing'purposes, as, for instance, with a suction press, the lower reach 34 maybe held by a pressing roll in pressing engagement with the web as wellas by the pres'- sure of the belt exerted by vacuum. The belt 30iis'-'rotated by the movement of the web on the moving: forming wire and isdriven by the web as the suctionholds the lower reach in face to facecontact with the web. Guide means may be provided for ensuring that thebelt tracks evenly with the web and prevent the lower reach from runningto one side or the other of the web.

The lower reach 34 of the belt 30 is disposed in confronting relation tothe suction device and provides a firm pressure backing surface acrossthe upper face of the web and against which the suction force is exertedto hold it on the webin facial contact therewith. The lower reach 8 34is of suflicient width but of greater axial extension to complement thearea of suctionand th' afaof web being subjected to the suction actionso as to restrict air from the portion of the web being treated. Therestriction of air enables a greater amount of water to be extracted bythe suction device 26, the lower reach 34 permitting a higher vacuum tobe imposed on the web without damaging or straining the web and thelower reach providing a backing surface in opposed position to thevacuum force.

Since the traveling end of the reach 34 of the belt 3% and the roller itembraces are disposed beyond the corresponding end and, therefore, theinfluence of the suction area of the suction device 26, I provide atransverse nozzle 34A so positioned as to direct a continual flow of airunder pressure between the web and the bottom reach 34 of the belt toprevent the web from adhering to the belt.

In the modification shown in Figure 2 I dispense with the nozzle 34A bymerely positioning the traveling end of the reach 34 and its rollerwithin the suction area of the suction device 26 so that the web will beheld in facial contact and move along with the forming wire 12 by thesuction and will thereby be prevented from adhering to the belt. It isto be understood, of course, that the nozzle could be used if desired.

.If some water displacement by air is desired the belt 30 may be madeporous or perforated so as not to completely exclude the atmospheric airbut to exclude a great or desired part thereof. With the imperforatelower reach, no air is sucked through the web but with a perforate belt,some air will be sucked through to displace the free water in the webnot removed by the compression under vacuum.

A similar belt 36 cooperates with the suction couch roll 18 and isentrained on rollers 38 which are disposed at circumferentially spacedpoints on the periphery of the roll 18 and have their axes parallelingthe axis of the roll. The lower or inner reach 40 of the belt 36functions identically to the reach 34 and is curved to complement thecurvature of the couch roll.

In Figures 3, 4 and 5 a modified form of belt arrangement is shown wherea double belt, consisting of an inner belt 42 and an outer belt 44, isprovided. The inner belt 42 is entrained over triangularly arrangedrollers 46 and has a lower, base reach 48. The belt is triangularlyarranged over the base pair of rollers 46 and the upper roller 50 at theapex thereof. The roller 50 is vertically adjustable for tightening thebelt. The reach 48 is disposed parallel to the wire 12 and is disposedin confronting relation to the suction means 26. The reach 48 is theequivalent of the reach 34 of the belt 30 and cooperates with thesuction means 26 in an identical manner.

An outer belt 52 is disposed around the belt 42 and entrained over theoutermost roller 46 and the top roller 50. The traveling end of the beltis entrained over a roller 54. The outer belt has a lower or base reach56, which is interposed between the reach 48 and the web 14 and which isin facial contact with the web 14.

The inner belt 42 is formed of rubber or other suitable material whilethe outer belt 52 is formed of porous material, such as wire mesh. Sincethe base reach 56 of the outer belt and the corresponding end of thereach 48 extend towards the couch roll and beyond the suction means 26,the air nozzle 34A should be applied between the web and the reach 56for the purpose above pointed out in connection with Figure 1 and may bedispensed with in the modification shown in Figure 4 for the reasonsgiven in connection with the modification in Figure 2, since thetraveling ends of the reaches 48 and 56 are positioned within thesuction area of the suction device 26.

The double belt arrangement 58, provided for the couch roll 18 isconstructed identically to the belt arrangement for the suction means 26and has curved reaches which cooperate with the suction means of thecouch roll 18 similar to the reach 40 of the belt 36.

The suction area of the suction means 26 is defined axially of the webby the boxlike housing, that is, it is located between the rollers 26and the reach 48 of the inner belt disposed in confronting relation tosuch suction area, while the reach 56 of the outer belt extendstherebeyond. The suction force of the suction means passing through theporous outer belt contacts the inner belt to hold the reaches 48 and 56on the web, with the reach 56 being in actual contact with the web andwith the reach 48, the belts being moved by the engagement of the reach56 with the moving web.

In Figure 6 where the invention is shown applied to cooperating toppress and suction press rolls 60 and 61, respectively, the belt 62 isentrained over three triangularly arranged rollers 63, 64 and 65, thebottom two of which are spaced apart a distance calculated to engage themaximum area of the web with the suction press roll 61. The bottom reach66 of the belt 62 extends beyond both ends of the suction box 67 withinthe suction press roll.

It is to be understood that either belt arrangement of Figures 1 or 2can be used in association with any suction means along any point of theweb travel in a paper making machine where water is to be extracted fromthe web and that such belts will provide a reach in facial contact withthe web and in opposing or confronting relation to the auction means toexclude air from the web t and thereby permit a greater extraction ofwater from the web. Thus, the exclusion of air by such a meansconstitutes a novel step in the method of making paper.

While the best known forms of this invention have been shown in thedrawing and described herein, other forms may be realized as comingwithin the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a paper making machine including a couch roll and a breast rolland a moving forming wire entrained thereover and carrying a paper orpulp web on its flat horizontal upper reach; the improvement comprisinga horizontal suction means underlying and parallel with said formingwire between said couch and breast rolls, an

endless revolvable perforate belt having its upper reach underlying andparallel with the wire above the suction means, an endless revolvableporous belt having its lower reach constantly overlying the web infacial contact therewith above and in confronting relation to said firstmentioned revolvable belt to restrict passage of air through the webbetween both of said belts.

2. In a paper making machine including a couch roll and a breast rolland a moving forming wire entrained thereover and carrying a paper orpulp web on its fiat horizontal upper reach; the improvement comprisinga.

horizontal suction means underlying and parallel with said forming wirebetween said couch and breast rolls,

an endless revolvable perforate belt having its upper reach underlyingand parallel with the wire above the suction means, an endlessrevolvable porous belt having its lower reach constantly overlying theweb in facial contact therewith above and in confronting relation tosaid first men tioned revolvable belt to restrict passage of air throughfronting relation to said suction means and including an.

outer and inner belt, said last mentioned belts having lower reachesdisposed in parallelism and paralleling the wire and the outer beltbeing in facial contact with the web.

4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said lower reach of the innerbelt is substantially coextensive in length with the suction area whilethe lower reach of the outer belt extends therebeyond and means fordirecting air pressure across and between the web and said lower reachof the outer belt to separate the web from the outer belt at thetraveling end thereof.

5. In the method of preparing a paper or pulp web which comprises thesteps of moving a web in a horizontally supported manner over andparallel with a horizontal suction means and extracting water from theweb by suction and pressure upon application of a suction force from thesuction means upwardly through the web, the step of restricting passageof atmospheric air downwardly through the web over the major area of thesuction means and thereby creating a pressure upon the web whereby theweb will be held flat and undistorted in its passage across the suctionmeans.

6. In a paper making machine including a flat horizontally disposedforming wire having a wet paper web carried thereon and extendingentirely thereacross, the improvement comprising a horizontal suctionmeans underlying and parallel with said forming wire, an endlessrevolvable perforate belt having its upper reach underlying and parallelwith the forming wire above the suction means, a fiat horizontal porousmember parallel with and constantly overlying the web full Width thereofand in moving facial contact therewith above and in confronting relationto said revolvable belt to restrict passage of air through the webbetween said belt and said member.

7. In a paper making machine including a flat horizontally disposedforming wire having a wet paper web carried thereon and extendingentirely thereacross, the improvement comprising suction means includinga hori zontally disposed box member underlying and parallel with saidforming wire, a roller rotatably mounted at each end of the box member,an endless perforate belt entrained over said rollers and having itsupper reach underlying and parallel with the forming wire above the boxmember, an endless revolvable porous belt having its lower reachconstantly overlying the web in contact therewith above and inconfronting relation to said perforate belt to restrict passage of airthrough the web between both of said belts whereby to extract water fromthe web by suction from its underside and suction-created pressure onits topside.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS412,359 Boyne Oct. 8, 1889 1,590,875 Barlow et a1 June 29, 19261,742,991 Heys Ian. 7, 1930 1,833,350 Berry Nov. 24, 1931 1,881,404Hadley Oct. 4, 1932 1,925,917 Chalon Sept. 5, 1933 1,955,399 Weston Apr.17, 1934 2,278,525 Rich et a1. Apr. 17, 1942 2,488,700 Bidwell Nov. 22,1949 2,714,340 Brown Aug. 2, 1955 2,744,453 Hornbostel May 8, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS 232,059 Germany Mar. 6, 1911

1. IN A PAPER MAKING MACHINE INCLUDING A COUCH ROLL AND A BREAST ROLLAND A MOVING FORMING WIRE ENTRAINED THEREOVER AND CARRYING A PAPER ORPULP WEB ON ITS FLAT HORIZONTAL UPPER REACH; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISINGA HORIZONTAL SUCTION MEANS UNDERLYING AND PARALLEL WITH SAID FORMINGWIRE BETWEEN SAID COUCH AND BREAST ROLLS, AN ENDLESS REVOLVABLEPERFORATE BELT HAVING ITS UPPER REACH UNDERLYING AND PARALLEL WITH THEWIRE ABOVE THE SUCTION MEANS, AN ENDLESS REVOLVABLE POROUS BELT HAVINGITS LOWER REACH CONSTANTLY OVERLYING THE WEB IN FACIAL CONTACT THEREWITHABOVE AND IN CONFRONTING RELATION TO SAID FIRST MENTIONED REVOLVABLEBELT TO RESTRICT PASSAGE OF AIR THROUGH THE WEB BETWEEN BOTH SAID BELTS.